Category Archives: This & That

Random musings that may or may not have something to do with anything in particular.

Is It Time For a Multiple Buyer Listing Service?

Is it time for an MLS database of active buyers? I ponder this on the heels of difficulties in locating quality resale homes amidst the bank owned rubble of today's market. We have long been beholden to the seller in the Real Estate hierarchy as a home listing sets all subsequent wheels in motion. Cooperating agents are ...

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The Realty Executives Re-Launch: A Shot Across the Bow of Scottsdale Real Estate Brokerages

Ordinarily, we here at the Scottsdale Property Shop are not overly concerned with the machinations at play within our brokerage. Perhaps an odd disconnect given that Realty Executives has dominated the top spot in market share for virtually every measurable category in Scottsdale (and Arizona at large) since 1974, but it is a crutch to ...

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You Want to Preview My Home? Buzz off, Ebert.

MP900177897[1]

I have seen my share of thumbs down houses over the years.  It’s a sad truth, but for every summer blockbuster, there is a Real Estate Gigli.  Properties that look so promising in the MLS trailer fall flat despite the star-studded cast.  Granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, new carpet, manicured back yard … a ...

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2010: The Year of the Niche in Scottsdale Real Estate

Tunnel Vision

2010 is the Year of the Niche. It’s true, feel free to consult the Chinese calendar to verify.  Scottsdale Real Estate practitioners, in self-defense, have turned to new and interesting means of keeping their businesses relevant in these inexplicable times.  Today's homework assignment for a Real Estate adventurer?  Finding a profitable, niche specialty.  Thus, the members ...

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Paradise Lost

"You mean, it's ours? It's really ours?" They were so excited. Even after I handed them the keys, they were slow to believe that the modest Spanish bungalow was now in their adoptive custody. Over the course of four exasperating months, we must have seen and dismissed close to a hundred homes. ...

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The McCormick Ranch Subdivision Series: Santa Fe

Camelback Walk in McCormick Ranch

One of the most well-known patio home communities in all of Scottsdale, Santa Fe in McCormick Ranch has come to symbolize low maintenance living in central Scottsdale.  Located just NE of the Hayden & McCormick Parkway intersection, this community of 366 homes (cumulatively between its two phases) has become a favorite amongst seasonal ...

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The McCormick Ranch Subdivision Series: Suggs Rancho McCormick

Key West Home in Suggs Rancho McCormick

With 255 homes, Suggs Rancho McCormick is one of the largest subdivisions in all of McCormick Ranch.  Ranging from the initial development of the aptly named Suggs construction company in the late '70s to the infill completed in the late 1980s by Key West (spin off of Camelot / Hancock Homes), the homes are as ...

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The McCormick Ranch Subdivision Series: Palo Viento 2

Camelback Walk in McCormick Ranch

Palo Viento 2 is a McCormick Ranch subdivision long revered for its proximity to the McCormick Ranch Golf Course. It boasts a combination of production-level homes and unique custom homes. Located immediately South of the Via De Ventura and Via Linda intersection, the majority of the neighborhood was developed by Camelot Homes ...

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Break the Chain! Echo Coffee in South Scottsdale

Scottsdale Coffee Shop

Recognizing that one has a problem is the first step towards overcoming addiction.  Recognizing that one harbors a chemical dependency on roasted caffeinated goodness … not so much.  I am a full-blown, pull-my-hair-out-by-the-roots java junkie.  I don’t need help, I just need a double espresso with a finish so smooth it could be mistaken for ...

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The Farm at South Mountain (Phoenix, AZ)

The Farm (Quiessence Restaurant and Wine Bar)

One of the great things about the Phoenix metropolitan area is the abundance of unique weekend destinations for both food and fun. While I love all that my home city of Scottsdale has to offer during the week, I like to load the family into the car on the weekend and visit one of the ...

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